Of Truth and Love
by Werewolf Coquette
Summary: Remus has found feelings for a new addition to the Order of the Phoenix- a muggle girl prophesized to bring the Dark Lord back to power. Things were going so right... but somehow truth always gets in the way.
1. Chapter One

**Of Truth and Love**

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Chapter One

"We have finally acquired it, my lord," a dark-haired woman with a harsh voice said in a low, respectful tone.

"The prophecy?" a shrill voice hissed. The woman grinned evilly and nodded slowly, drawing a smallish turquoise orb from the sleeve of her robe.

"Do it," the shrill voice ordered, and upon his command the woman dropped the orb, letting it smash into a thousand pieces. A misty smoke rose and formed into the shape of a rather nondescript man who began to speak.

"The fall of Lord Grindelwald shall not be his end, for just this night his son was born to carry on his legacy. Only through the first nonmagic spawn in his lineage will the Dark Lord rise once again."

With that the smoky figure vanished.

"Well done Bellatrix," the shrill voice whispered.

"Anything for you, my lord Voldemort," Bellatrix replied with a deep bow and a smirk.

* * *

Gwendolyn Quackenbush sighed as she looked at the darkening sky from under the awning of the newspaper where she worked. She had originally applied there as a journalist but was hired as a "secretary", however she thought of herself more as a "mailroom monkey"; at least, that's how she was treated. The only things she really did were sorting files, delivering mail to their respective cubicles, and fetching coffee and doughnuts for the executives.

As Wendy began to walk (she couldn't afford bus fare, let alone a car; mailroom monkies don't earn much) the menacing black clouds finally let loose the torrent of rain they'd been holding back all afternoon with a tremendous roll of thunder.

"Perfect," she grumbled mordantly, bringing out her pink umbrella. The wind picked up considerably as she trudged on. She was having a battle keeping hold of her umbrella and lost, the wind claiming it and whipping it out of her hands and down the block.

"Fine! Take it then!" Wendy shouted to no one. She turned to keep walking, her long straight deep brown locks made wet and stringy within minutes, her clothes soaked through as well. In her mind she was grateful she'd decided against wearing that white blouse today.

By the time she arrived home she looked truly a fright, her hair and clothes sopping wet and windblown, her nose and her mascara running.

"You look horrible!"

"Hello Aunt Irene," Wendy said dully as her aunt opened the door to the small two level house where Wendy lived with her two spinster aunts, Irene and Agatha.

"Honestly, Wendy, how do you expect to ever find a man looking like that?" Agatha asked with distaste.

"That's easy, I don't expect to find a man!" Wendy replied, wringing out her hair. The excess water dripped right onto a fat calico cat which was sent away hissing disgruntledly. Lightning struck and the lights flickered. The aunts looked up from their cross-stitch agitatedly.

"I'm going to get some dinner," Wendy mumbled, heading into the tiny kitchen and opening the fridge. She wrinkled her nose in disgust at the options before her: standard old lady food, complete with prune juice.

"I can't believe I'm a full-grown woman and still living with my aunts," she grumbled, shutting the fridge. It was then another lightning bolt flashed, followed by an ear-splitting crash of thunder that sent a different cat streaking past Wendy's feet. Then the lights went out completely.

"Wendy!"

The petulant cry uttered from both her aunts simultaneously sounded uncannily similar to the plaintive mews of their numerous felines.

"I know, I know, I'll go check the fuse box," Wendy said, grabbing the flashlight from atop the fridge, stumbling to find the front door, and heading reluctantly back into the downpour.

The door was sucked closed behind her in the crosswind and she was caught off-balance, falling to her knees in a pile of mud that was once the flower garden. She stood up with a stomach-turning squelching sound and made her way around to the back of the house in ankle-deep mud. It took her several minutes to get the slippery metal front of the fuse box open, then she was startled by an ear-splitting crack of thunder and dropped her flashlight in the mud. Letting out an exasperated cry she bent to look for it, then just gave up on the whole business completely and turned to go back inside. She had some candles in her room they could use, she thought as she turned to head inside.

But she couldn't move.

Her feet had sunk several inches into the mud, taking her at least ten minutes to free herself, and only without her shoes.

"Those were my favorite shoes, damn you!" she screeched at the mud, which only bubbled self-righteously back at her. With an angry cry she finally made her way back into the house.

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"Are you sure this is the place?"

"Of course I'm sure- come on!"

With that the two figures approached the front door.

"What?" Agatha asked irritably, yanking open the door. "Oh! I'm sorry- I thought it was Wendy…" she said quickly when she saw the two hunched figures.

"I told you this was the right place," one muttered. The other spoke directly to Agatha.

"May we come in?"

"Well, I-"

But the two men (as it were) were too anxious to get out of the dousing rain to wait for a reply and simply pushed their way in.

"Aren't there any lights in this place?"

"Wendy's out checking the fuse box," Irene said irately, coming to see what strangers dared to intrude. "Now who are you?" She gasped as the lights suddenly went back on revealing two rain-soaked men- one with sandy hair, the other's black as midnight. The latter one was putting his wand away.

Instantly realizing (at least somewhat) what was going on Agatha reacted.

"Oh no! Out! Both of you out! We don't want any of your kind here!" she spat contemptuously.

"Excuse me ma'am but we're here to see Miss Gwendolyn Quackenbush!" the sandy haired man said offendedly.

"We are her legal guardians and we say out with you!" Irene squawked, pointing at the door.

"I believe a woman of her age can make her own decisions," the dark haired one replied curtly. "Now we have come to speak with Gwendolyn-"

"Speak to me about what?"

The sudden sound of Wendy's voice from the door made all of them jump, her entrance not heard above the storm and banter. She looked even worse for wear now with her skirt tangled and plastered around her thighs and her legs up to her knees coated in mud, shoeless.

"Nothing- these men were just leaving!" Agatha said tersely.

"No, these men just got here, meaning to speak to you," the dark one snapped.

"Well?" Wendy looked expectantly at the other man who had yet to do anything more than stare at her.

"Miss Quackenbush, perhaps you should sit down," the dark one said, turning to her.

"Not on my furniture she doesn't!" Agatha protested angrily. Wendy rolled her eyes.

"Fine," the dark man said tensely with a cold glare in Agatha's direction, then turned back to Wendy. "My name is Severus Snape, and this is my… colleague, Remus Lupin"- his lighter-haired partner bowed slightly with a half smile- "and we're here to ask if you wouldn't mind coming with us."

"What are you guys, Scotland Yard or something?" Wendy asked nervously, taking a step back and looking between the two men. Severus glared at her aunts.

"You haven't told her anything, have you?" he spat.

"Of course not!" Agatha spat right back. "After that happened to Adam and Kate? Never!"

"We wanted her to have nothing to do with…with… your kind!" Irene threw in.

"Their kind…? After what happened to my mum and dad?" Wendy demanded, looking to her aunts. But they remained as tight-lipped and scowling as ever.

"What do you know about your parents, Miss Quackenbush?" Remus asked softly. Wendy looked at him sharply.

"They died in a car crash when I was a baby." She replied, shocked to see him shake his head. Severus was still glaring at the aunts, his gaze glacier.

"Far from it," Remus went on. "Your parents were wizards, Miss Quackenbush, as are we." He indicated Severus and himself.

"What?!" Wendy looked at him like he was insane.

"It's true," Severus said gravely, turning back towards them. The aunts still stewed in their corner.

"I think I need to sit down," Wendy breathed bemusedly.

"Here, allow me-" Remus pulled out his wand and, giving it a wave, produced an overstuffed armchair right beneath Wendy's sinking bottom. She looked at his wand in alarm, then at the chair below her in surprise, jumping up with a cry.

"You are wizards!" she gasped. An incoherent murmur of disapproval sounded from the aunts, glaring from their corner.

"Please sit down Miss Quackenbush," Severus said. Wendy sank automatically, not taking her wide eyes from these two strangers. Remus knelt down by her left arm.

"You're parents were wizards… and they didn't die in a car crash," he spoke gently. Another titter arose from her aunts but they were now completely ignored.

"They were killed," he went on softly, looking at her meaningfully. Wendy looked down and was startled at the breath-taking shade of amber of his eyes.

"Who? Who would do that?" she demanded.

"Another group of wizards," Severus said after a pause. "A foul bunch. They call themselves the Death-eaters." Wendy looked back to Remus to see his eyes no longer met hers but were cast down at the floor.

"You see, Miss Quackenbush," Severus went on after another long pause, glaring swiftly at Remus, "Your parents worked with us- well, our… organization. We call ourselves the Order of the Phoenix, and have set ourselves against the Death-eaters."

"But what do you want with me?" Wendy finally asked after Remus still would not meet her eyes.

"We need you to come with us- for protection," Severus answered. "Once the Death-eaters discover who you are they will undoubtedly wish to kill you."

"What? Why?" Wendy asked, her head spinning. This was just too much at once.

"It's… well, it's… it's involved. We'll explain once we get you somewhere safe," he said quickly. "Remus, we've got to go." Remus finally looked up at hearing the urgency in his voice and stood to leave.

"You will not be taking her anywhere!" Irene suddenly shouted, reminding Wendy of their temporarily forgotten presence.

"I am afraid that since Miss Quackenbush is well beyond the legal age you have no say in the matter," Severus said coldly. Irene looked appalled but held her tongue.

"Please, you must come with us!"

Wendy turned and immediately saw the exigency in Remus's burning amber eyes.

"A-a-alright, I'll go," she stuttered startledly.

"Good, let's go," Severus said quickly as lightning flashed, opening the door and bolting outside. Remus turned in the doorway as Wendy hesitated, reaching his hand out to her.

"Don't you dare go out that door," Agatha hissed dangerously. Wendy looked between them, then to Remus, his eyes pleading and anxious. Slowly, she took his hand.

"Gwendolyn Frances Quackenbush you come back here this instant!" Irene shrieked.

But that was all Wendy heard as Remus's warm hand closed upon her own and he whisked her into the storm-tossed night, the door slamming shut behind them forever.

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Please review? I don't care if you flame me- just please review? Look, the little button looks so lonely… one little click takes such little effort…


	2. Chapter Two

Sorry I didn't update sooner! You see, I was on a camping trip and then this past week was my freshman finals week (I passed! It's a miracle!) so I was a bit preoccupied. But now it's officially summer holiday so, unless the dreaded writer's block strikes and I cannot chase down any plot bunnies ::knocks on wood:: my updates should be more swift in coming! Well, here ya go- chapter two! And I'll try not to have so many author's notes later on as well.

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Chapter Two

"In here!"

After what seemed like an eternity of practically swimming through the flooded streets, shoeless no less, Remus pulled Wendy into a shadowy building.

Once inside Wendy was surprised to find them in a tiny candle-lit pub of sorts, though not one she was used to seeing, with a roaring fireplace on either side of the room.

"Ah, here we are," Remus sighed, looking around with a smile. Wendy was about to ask where that was exactly but what came out of her mouth was a tremendous sneeze, doubling her over. She straightened, sniffling deeply, then shivered involuntarily. She was soaked to the bone, had been for quite some time, and it had grown very cold outside.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Remus cried immediately. "How terrible of me! Here-" And with that he took off his black cloak and wrapped it around Wendy's slim shoulders. "Better?" he asked hopefully. Wendy nodded- although wet as everything else on the outside the cloak was actually quite warm and dry on the inside, and though it was dull and worn, it had a rather pleasant odor to it, kind of musky.

Remus smiled and was about to say something when the door burst open behind them.

"Get down!" Remus pushed her roughly into a corner veiled in the shadows cast from the fireplace, just behind and to the left of the bar where he then squeezed in in front of her. Two ominous figures entered and swept to the bar, flinging raindrops from the edges of their billowing cloaks. They went to the bar and once they sat down one pulled out an umbrella- a pink one.

"Hey… that's my umbrella!" Wendy realized. Remus immediately pushed her head down and Wendy could see no more.

"Did you hear something?" a deep, silky voice asked in a furtive tone.

"No," the other answered. Wendy had a strange feeling she'd heard that voice before.

"Hm. Now, we were to meet Macnair here- he couldn't very well apparate to a house he'd never been to before. Blasted fellow should be here by now…" This was the first voice. "Might as well order some firewhiskey while we're here. Oi, Tom! I'll take a shot of firewhiskey. You?"

"I'll pass," the second voice, the one Wendy found familiar, replied. The first man got his drink and still Wendy and Remus waited breathlessly. He was close enough to her that she could feel the heat radiating from his body and, still frozen, she was glad for it.

Out of nowhere a gigantic POP! sounded and Wendy jumped.

"There you are Macnair!" The first voice.

"Sorry that took so long," a new voice said.

_Where did he come from? _Wendy wondered. Then her stomach tightened. She had to sneeze.

Not being able to do anything to stop it she let it go, trying her best to stifle it. Then a crash sounded from the bar.

"Whoops…" It was the familiar voice. "Well, let's be off then- I have no great desire to be out in this weather all night." And with that Wendy heard the sounds of three pairs of boots exiting the pub. Remus waited a moment before finally letting Wendy and himself emerge.

"We'll be needing a room for the night if you've got one," he said to the man behind the counter who was at that moment sweeping up glass in front. He looked up, startled.

"Oh! Mr. Lupin! When did you get here?" he asked.

"Oh, just now…" he answered vaguely. "Now how about that room?"

"I think you're in luck," the man replied, heading behind the counter. "See, we've had quite a lot of rooms taken on account of all the folks getting stuck here with the weather and all"-He looked up as, as if on cue, a menacing flash of lightning dazzled them and the steady pounding on the roof increased it's volume as rain turned to hail. Remus nodded empathetically. Then Tom noticed Wendy.

"Oh, uh… I've only got one room left…" he said apologetically to Remus, key already in his hand.

"That's quite alright Tom," Remus replied quickly, taking the keys. "We'll take it."

With that he gestured to Wendy to follow him and they went up a narrow set of stairs to the hotel-like upper story. Remus found their room and unlocked the door. They entered to find the room small- but warm and dry with a fire already burning. He shut the door behind them and Wendy heard the lock click.

"Mr. Lupin- there's only one bed in here," Wendy said tightly, realizing how very little she knew about this man- wizard- that was several inches taller and undoubtedly stronger than her.

"Hmm…" he murmured thoughtfully, walking into the room. "Looks like I'll be sleeping here then." He rested his hands on the back of a slightly dusty armchair near the fire. "And please- just Remus," he added with a smile.

Wendy's expression softened and she felt slightly ashamed for doubting his intentions.

"Hey, towels!" Wendy said in surprise, grabbing a worn but fluffy white towel off the bed and tossing Remus the other. "Is this… for me?" She picked up a nightgown also on the bed curiously.

"Well, I don't really think it's my color…" Remus said playfully, drying his hair vigorously with the towel. Wendy held it up to herself.

"It is rather nice…" she admitted. "And dry. But how did it get here?"

"Welcome to the wizarding world, Miss Quackenbush," he said with a grin. "You should really try and get some sleep."

Wendy nodded, sliding under the covers and wiping her nose as daintily as she could on the back of her hand.

"If I brought you back sick I'd never hear the end of it," he muttered more to himself.

"Aren't you going to change?" Wendy asked. "I swear I won't look, if you're… shy." She herself had made him leave the room when she changed; he seemed sort of hurt but understanding. However Remus shook his head, striding to the tiny shuttered window behind which the storm still raged.

"I'm really not very wet," he said simply. "You just sleep- I'm going to stay up for awhile yet."

Wendy didn't need telling twice- she was exhausted. Closing her eyes she almost instantly succumbed to the warm sheets and the sound of the storm.

Remus watched her silently for several minutes, watched her thin chest rise and fall with shallow breaths, snoring slightly. He shook his head at himself as an inner derisive voice began to speak.

_I had to make sure she was really asleep,_ he told the voice in his head, walking to the fireplace and tossing in a handful of powder from the mantle.

"12 Grimmauld Place," he said as loudly as he dared and the fire roared green. "Alastor? Tonks? Sirius? Anyone?"

"Remus, is that you?" Sirius's head appeared in the flames. Remus instantly shushed him.

"She's sleeping," he said quietly, gesturing behind him.

"So you do have her?" Sirius asked. He let out a sigh as Remus nodded. "God Moony, do you have any idea how crazy I was going back here? Everyone's out and then I find out old Snivellus had to go play Death-eater and still no word from you!"

"Sorry Sirius," Remus apologized. "This was the first chance I had. What happened?"

"I should be asking you! But all I know is that the Death-eaters must've found out something- they got to the house about an hour after you left."

"What took them so long?"

"Huh?"

"We saw them here not so long ago- Lucius and Severus and Macnair- and they spoke of apparation… but Severus knew for us to leave the house much, much sooner- an hour, as you said."

"And where is 'here'?"

"The Leaky Cauldron."

"You made it that far at least…"

"I don't know how soon we'll be able to get there, not being able to apparate and with the Death-eaters inevitably figuring out we have her"- he gestured behind him- "Do you think a Portkey would be too brash?" Sirius paused a moment in thought before speaking.

"You said you saw Lucius Malfoy there- did he see you?"

"No, thanks to Severus. It was a very close call though." Remus shook his head thinking back to how his heart had just about stopped when Wendy sneezed and Lucius turned his head. Severus, who had been facing their hiding place, made eye contact with Remus but his face didn't change as he knocked Lucius's shot glass off the counter just in time to distract him.

"Severus isn't back yet?" he asked suddenly.

Sirius confirmed the negative.

"No one's here- no one's bloody ever here," Sirius said dismally.

"Aw Sirius," Remus said comfortingly. "Hey, you'll have company once I can get Gwendolyn there safely. Undoubtedly she won't be able to leave either- it's the safest place for her."

"If you can get her here safely," Sirius said with a grin.

"Are you challenging my abilities, Mr. Padfoot?" Remus demanded in mock outrage, though he was smiling.

"So hey," Sirius said abruptly. "Tell me about this girl- she pretty?"

"Uh…" Remus grinned and scratched his head, looking away. Even through the green fire Sirius could see his friend's blush. He laughed heartily.

"Hey, maybe being stuck around here won't be so bad!" he joked.

"Yeah," Remus laughed, though it quickly died as he thought about it. The two of them in that house all alone… Remus knew all too well it was only a matter of time before a said girl succumbed to his charms, unattached or otherwise. He surprised himself with the envy he now felt burning in his chest.

"Remus mate, what's the matter?" Sirius asked with concern.

"Oh, well, ah… it's nothing," he said quickly.

"Please Remus, I've known you for how long? I'm not buying it."

"It's just… it's so hard to lie to her like this!" he finally admitted.

"Remus, you knew about that since the beginning!" Sirius cried exasperatedly. They'd been through this before.

"I know, it's just… now that I've met her, now she's right here… I feel so guilty!"

"It's for her own good," Sirius assured. "If she went with the Death-eaters they'd do a lot worse than lie to her."

"I suppose you're right…"

"Of course I'm right! Now hurry back here so I can meet his pretty young lady!" Sirius said jauntily. "A Portkey should be fine. Squibs can use them, right?"

"Yes Squibs can use Portkeys."

"Why not get right over now?"

"She's sleeping, remember? I don't want to wake her," Remus said in a hushed tone, glancing to the slumbering form on the bed behind him.

"Ahh," Sirius said knowingly, nodding slowly, raising his eyebrows and grinning. "When she wakes up then. Hope it's sooner rather than later- would really enjoy some female company around here other than Tonks and Molly Weasley!"

Remus nodded and smiled weakly.

"Well, I'll see you then, Sirius…" And with that he withdrew his head from the flames.

He had felt that pang of jealousy again, though he didn't know why. He shook his head resigning himself to sitting on the armchair and staying awake. The full moon was nearing and he was exhausted, but he would stay awake. At least… he'd sure try.


End file.
